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This is the easiest slow cooker pulled pork, but it tastes unbelievable! Make a huge batch and freeze some of it to put on sandwiches or pizza, in soup, tacos, fried rice and more!
I am not kidding. This is the easiest slow cooker pulled pork ever. Probably the easiest slow cooker recipe period. I always feel like slow cooker recipes are more work than they should be. Isn’t the point of the slow cooker that you just throw everything in and then leave, and come home 8 hours later to a delicious meal? Most of the good slow cooker recipes I have made require a few prep steps before or after. And that is fine, I’m willing to do a few extra steps to make sure my meal turns out great. But a super easy, almost no prep recipe is always welcome.
I had never made pork in the slow cooker before this. Although I love bacon and baby back ribs, I don’t prepare pork very often for dinner. I think I had a bad experience with a pork loin and never really wanted to try it again. I didn’t realize how AMAZING a pork shoulder would turn out if I just used my slow cooker. It is like the slow cooker is made for the pork shoulder. ALSO – I keep writing slow cooker, but I always call it a Crock Pot in real life. Even though Crock Pot is the brand name. It’s kind of like calling tissue “kleenex” and a bandage a “band-aid”, which I also do. But I’m trying to be fair to all those slow cookers out there that are not Crock Pots. So I’ll try to stick to calling it a slow cooker.
It takes one minute of prep. When it is finished, you have the most succulent, juicy, tender, fall apart pork you have ever seen.
So, back to this pork roast. Holy heck. Let me count the ways I love this roast. It takes one minute of prep. Then you can forget about it for nine hours. When it is finished, you have the most succulent, juicy, tender, fall apart pork you have ever seen. All you need to do is shred it with two forks and then serve it in any of the following ways: Put it on a sandwich. Make a taco. Put it in some soup. Make lettuce wraps if you are trying to be healthy. Put it on a pizza. Stand at the counter eating it with your fingers Put it on a plate and eat it at the table with silverware like a grown up. The reason I made this so flavor neutral is because I wanted it to be like a blank slate. This makes a really large amount ot meat, so unless you are feeding a crowd you will have some left over. And it freezes beautifully, so you can have some on hand for emergencies – like those nights where ordering a pizza seems like the only option.
I have a few recipes up my sleeve using this pulled pork, but this is the foundation of countless customizable options. All I did to make this pulled pork roast is this: Season the roast with kosher salt Put it in the slow cooker. Turn on the slow cooker to low and set for nine hours. That. Is. It. Sure, you can add some spices if you want, but I like that this is a blank slate for any number of recipes I might want to use it for. And it is anything but bland. I dare you to NOT pop any of it in your mouth when you are shredding it. You won’t be able to stop yourself.
A note about the cut of meat. I have used both boneless boston butt and bone in picnic shoulder for this. They both turned out great but I prefered the flavor of the boston butt. PS – I see you loling about it being called “butt”. It isn’t really from the “butt” of the pig. It is from the shoulder 🙂 If you are a food nerd like me and you want to know why it has that name, check out this article. Also, when I was buying this roast, I first found some “enhanced” roasts in the meat section. Run! Run away! We don’t want our meat “enhanced”, AKA injected with a salt water solution. No thanks. Luckily I found a beautiful pork roast behind the butcher counter. If you find a roast shrink wrapped and labeled “enhanced” put it down and walk over to the butcher counter. They probably have a much better roast for you.
The Easiest Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 1 boneless pork shoulder roast Boston Butt, around 4 pounds
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Season the roast all over with kosher salt. Place in slow cooker and set to low. Cook for about nine hours.
- When cooked remove from slow cooker and allow to cool slightly. If desired, remove any large pieces of fat - they should be very easy to remove at this point. Using two forks, shred the meat.
Notes
**Avoid buying a roast that has been injected with a sodium solution. Try to find a roast that is natural and untampered with. Most likely this will be at a butcher counter.
***You can also use a bone in roast if you can't find boneless
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Adapted from Nom Nom Paleo
Items I used in this post (Affiliate Links)
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Hi Megan,
I have an 18 1/2 pound pork shoulder picnic whole bone in. Last time I made pulled pork I used 2-4lb butt pound roast In the slow cooker a.k.a. crockpot. I added some onions and some garlic, but it ended up a little dry. I’m thinking I cooked it to long. I can’t screw this one up my son-in-law that is a phenomenal cook with new recipes is waiting. We have a little friendly competition going on here. LOL
Can you give me an estimated time in the slow cooker for this 18 1/2 pound pork shoulder, can I use just the kosher salt to get the same and result as everyone is raving about? Goal is to freeze Into small freezer bags for future use. If there’s anything left once I let the family know what I’m doing. Second thought I’ll keep it a secret for the time being even from my son-in-law. LOL HELP!
PS. I’m sitting here looking at it it’s ready to go once I get your input.
Hi Kathy – the cooking time is going to vary depending on a few different factors. However, I would recommend with such a large roast that you might want to cut it into chunks. With roasts like this, low and slow is best so you might want to even try cooking it overnight. If you check it after 8-9 hours and it’s not tender, give it more time. Hope that helps!
Hi Meghan,
Just had carnitas tacos with the best pork EVER!
The beer perhaps added a new flavor.
This is the ONLY recipe for slow cooker pork now. Thanks
Jim
Hi Jim – I am so glad to hear that!
Greetings
I just put a 7lb bone in butt in my slow cooker. I added a bottle of Corona, fitting label in light of the current crisis.
I hope that doesn’t take away from the flavor.
Cheers,
Jim
I think it can only improve the flavor. Let me know how it turns ou!
Can I make this using a boneless pork tenderloin? Could I add a little chicken broth so it doesn’t dry out?
Hi Leslie – Pork tenderloin is a leaner cut so I don’t think it will need as much time. It might only need 4 hours in the slow cooker. It also probably won’t have as much flavor on its own since it has less fat. So in addition to cooking for a shorter amount of time, you also may want to add some spices or sauces to increase the flavor. I do have another recipe for pork tenderloin that you might like here: https://www.staging.foxandbriar.com/bacon-wrapped-pork-tenderloin-recipe/
Super easy recipe! Thanks. Also, I think it is super funny that we’re using kosher salt in a pork recipe. 😉
So glad you liked it Douglas! And , ha, that is funny, I didn’t think about that.
Is that all you put in the slow cooker? No water or anything? Sorry never had one done and my husband loves it I want to try it
Hi Candice – yep! The meat will release plenty of liquid so you don’t need to add any.
Thanks for sharing, I made it and I loved it!
I’m hungry now. I would eat it right off the board. 🙂
Thanks Julie! I know I sure did! 🙂
This might sound like a stupid question, but I noticed that you used a 4 lb roast. Should I cut the time in half for a 2.38 lb roast? It’s an organic piece of meat (first one I’ve ever bought) and I really don’t want to ruin it! Thanks.
Hi Bernadette – I would not cut the time in half. Since it is a tough cut of meat it needs to cook low and slow in order to become tender. I would check it after 6 or 7 hours but it still might take 8 or 9. It is done when it is very tender and falling apart. I don’t think you need to worry too much about overcooking it. I have actually cooked this roast for longer and it was still great! Thanks for your question!
This looks just incredible and so simple. I really do want to try this. Pulled pork is such a crowd pleaser. Plus, I love to use my slow cooker! xx
Thank you Liz! I do love how easy it is!
This is fantastic Meghan! I love pulled pork and you just got me craving for it!! 😀 I love that this is all pork flavor – and slow cooker meals are so handy!
Thanks so much Dini!